British Beer & Ales

British Beer

There’s no denying it—Britain is a nation of beer lovers. The beverage has been brewed for centuries and shows no sign of losing its appeal, and with both multi-national corporations and smaller establishments offering a huge variety of British beers and ales you’re certainly not short of options.

Beer history, types and followersBritain has a long and illustrious history of beer brewing, with it thought to be a common practice as far back as Roman times. Since then it’s gone from strength to strength and by the 1700s a style known as Porter (a popular dark beer) was the first that could be created on a large scale, whilst industrialisation and technological advancements meant breweries quickly became well-established.

Britain produces a huge range of beer styles including stout, porter, bitter and IPA, but it’s perhaps most well-known for its real ale. This type of beer uses top-fermenting yeast with the process being carried out at much higher temperatures than mass-produced lagers, and it finishes fermenting in the cellar of the pub rather than at the brewery. It’s got an incredibly loyal following and is loved by so many that it’s led to the formation of CAMRA—the Campaign for Real Ale was established in 1971 in response to a lot of breweries favouring lower-quality styles, and aims to encourage the creation (and consumption) of traditional, flavoursome beers.

And it seems that they’ve done a good job. There are now over 5,500 different styles of British beers and ales and the number is growing all the time, with microbreweries adding even more variety into the mix. These days you can enjoy everything from craft beers to lagers, stout and bitters, and if you want to see the type of options available just take a look around. Our extensive selection of British beers and ales brings you the best the country has to offer, and with well-known names as well as plenty of hidden gems your ideal beer could be just a click away!